Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio
Published: May 1, 2022
Source: Print – ARC Paperback via Author / Audio – ALC via Brilliance Publishing
Summary:
From the bestselling author of A Beautiful Poison comes a spellbinding historical mystery about hidden identities, wartime paranoia, and the tantalizing power of deceit.
Brooklyn, 1942. War rages overseas as brother and sister Will and Maggie Scripps contribute to the war effort stateside. Ambitious Will secretly scouts for the Manhattan Project while grief-stricken Maggie works at the Navy Yard, writing letters to her dead mother between shifts.
But the siblings’ quiet lives change when they discover a beautiful woman hiding under their back stairs. This stranger harbors an obsession with poisons, an affection for fine things, and a singular talent for killing small creatures. As she draws Will and Maggie deeper into her mysterious past, they both begin to suspect she’s quite dangerous—all while falling helplessly under her spell.
With whispers of spies in dark corners and the world’s first atomic bomb in the works, the visitor’s sudden presence in Maggie’s and Will’s lives raises questions about who she is and what she wants. Is this mysterious woman someone they can trust—or a threat to everything they hold dear?
My thoughts:
I have been a fan of Lydia Kang’s books for quite a while now, so it was a no-brainer when she reached out to me asking if I wanted a copy of her latest book. Her writing is just so smart and engaging and this latest one is no exception.
It’s no secret that I love a good WWII story and this one is a completely different take on that, which I so appreciated. Set in NYC, we have the backdrop of the beginning stages of the Manhattan Project coming to life and I honestly don’t think I’ve read anything that has even mentioned this before, so that was pretty neat. Of course, there are the typical nuances that I’ve come to love when reading something by this author – her trademark pieces if you will. There’s the use of plants and how their poisonous parts can be used for extreme distress – I find this to be so fascinating and love how Kang is able to masterfully weave this into her stories without it ever feeling hokey. There are also other bits of science that come into play and again, it’s never overbearing to the story but just fits quite naturally.
I loved the mystery aspect of this book, too. Who is this strange woman that shows up at the siblings’ house one day and what is hiding from? I was so conflicted throughout the book as to what she was really up to and felt quite anxious until we got to the bottom of it. That paired with the mysterious backdrop of all the happenings with the secret project Will was working on and Maggie trying to keep her new job and the Navy Yard while also trying to help Ruby really kept me guessing as to where everything was headed.
This book was quite a delightful surprise in the way it all wrapped up and as I already mentioned I was fascinated by the many pieces that come into play. Historical mysteries really have become my favorite of late and this one definitely fit the bill.
Audio thoughts:
This was narrated by one of my all-time favorite narrators, Saskia Maarleveld and she did a fantastic job bringing this book to life. Her pacing and intonation are spot on and she gives each character their own unique voice.
